All Was Well
by The Green Pilgrim
Summary: When Harry goes missing, Ginny launches into a downward spiral as she, Ron, and Hermione try to find him. Meanwhile, the Potter children have their own plan for rescuing their dad. No one is safe, and all is mostly certainly not well.
1. Chapter 1: Assuming All Was Well

Author's Note: This has been sitting on my computer for about a year now. It's something I originally started writing for my sister because we both LOVE angst and HATE the Epilogue! (However, since this story clearly accepts the Epilogue into its canon, you should be able to enjoy it regardless of what side of that debate you happen to support.) But now I've cleaned it up a bit and decided to share!

Updates will be sporadic, but I do intend to finish! Feedback of any kind is a huge encouragement.

Enjoy!

All Was Well  
Chapter One: Assuming All Was Well

Ginny refilled the glass from the sink for the third time in a row. Her hand shaking only slightly, she lifted it to her lips and drank the entire thing in a quick succession of gulping swallows. She took a few deep breaths. When she looked around the world seemed a little… unstable. Like it wasn't spinning yet, but it was just waiting for her say-so to start.

"Ginny? Gin, you home?" someone called from the living room. The voice broke through the silence of the empty house—the kids were all outside playing—like a crack of thunder. Ginny barely reacted. She set her glass down on the counter and ran her fingers through her hair, hoping she appeared more put-together than she felt.

When she got into the living room her attention turned to the fireplace, where she was unsurprised to see Hermione's concerned expression floating amidst the flames.

"I'm here," Ginny said, needlessly. She didn't have it in her to give Hermione a more polite greeting.

Her friend's frown deepened slightly. "I don't suppose there's been any news?" she asked. She was speaking very quietly. She'd been doing that for two days, like a loud noise might be the thing that pushed Ginny over the deep end. Possibly true, but it was getting seriously annoying.

"You know there hasn't been," Ginny replied. She meant to sound angry, but it just came out tired. "I'll contact you the second I know anything."

"I know, I know," said Hermione, "It's just…" she bit her lip, cut off that train of thought, whatever it had _just _been_, _and asked, "How are you holding up?"

Ginny silently stared back at her, forcibly dragging the moment into awkwardness. How was she holding up? Could what she'd been going through for the past two days even be described as _holding up_?

"I think I'm going to tell the kids," she said finally. Hermione looked relieved to get a response, but then her worry returned to her face, doubled.

"Do you think that's a good idea?" she asked. "I mean, we still don't know anything. And they're so young, there's no need to—"

"Hermione, James is fifteen," Ginny said, crossing her arms. "I should have told him everything from the start. And Harry," her voice caught slightly on his name, but she kept going as if it hadn't happened, "Harry faced Voldemort _twice_ by the time he was Lily's age. They're his children, and they'll be fine."

"Are you trying to convince me or yourself?" Hermione asked mildly.

Ginny narrowed her eyes. "I'll let you know if I hear anything," she said with finality, all but dismissing Hermione. The other woman sighed and regarded her sadly.

"All right, talk to you soon." Her face disappeared, and Ginny's posture immediately sagged with relief. She'd found that being around other people, including and especially her own children, was difficult. When she was by herself she didn't have to pretend that she was fine, that she was _holding up_, and that everything was going to be okay. All of that took more energy than she felt like she could muster.

"Dad's dead, isn't he?" came a quiet voice from the stairs. Ginny spun around to face her son—Albus. It was a beautiful day, and she'd shooed the children out with their brooms earlier. Of course Al would have lost interest and come back in to read instead. He'd probably been up in his room, and heard her and Hermione talking. He was still holding his book—one of the Muggle adventures he was so fond of.

He regarded her soberly, his expression far too serious for his thirteen-year-old face.

"Oh," Ginny said, "Sweetie, Dad's not dead."

"Then what was all that with Aunt Hermione?" he asked. "He hasn't been home in days. And something's wrong, we all know it. What have you been keeping from us?"

Ginny put her face in her hands and took a deep breath. When she peered through her fingers she saw that Albus was still there, watching her expectantly. Finally she said, "Fine. Go get your brother and sister and I'll tell you."

Albus swallowed hard and nodded. Ginny noticed that despite acting so stoically, the boy was very near tears.

"Hey," she caught hold of him before he reached the door and pulled him into a hug. He was getting quite tall—almost as tall as her. He'd probably be like his brother, who was already taller. "Don't worry, Al," she said. She meant to say something like, "Dad's okay," or "everything will be fine," but the words seemed to get stuck in her throat. So instead she said, "You'll know everything in a minute."

Al nodded and dashed out the door. Ginny seriously hoped he wasn't crying, because then surely she would lose it herself. But of her three children, Al would take this the hardest. James could so easily mask anything with humor, and Lily was always a tough kid, tougher than either of her brothers, maybe, even though she was younger.

Even so, none of them had ever faced something like this before. Their childhood, under the careful watch of their parents and extended family, had been full of love and safety with only the occasional minor misadventure that went with any wizard's upbringing. This was different. This was the kind of thing more fitting to Ginny's own childhood, full of fear and misgiving. Uncertainty. She couldn't be sure how they would react. It was why she'd decided to hide it from them in the first place.

But she couldn't anymore, not with what she was planning. _Both _of their parents couldn't disappear without explanation. So she collapsed onto the couch, and waited.

* * *

_Two days earlier_…

"I think it was… Wiggy the Warlock, in the apothecary, with… _Avada Kedavra_!"

Lily said the last part very suddenly, looking directly at Albus. He flinched, and glared when Lily and James burst out laughing. "Oh shut up, I was startled not scared. I don't know why this game is so violent, isn't it supposed to be for kids?"

"What do you mean?" asked Ginny, "_I _still like this game, don't I?" She glanced down at the _Wizard Clue_ board, visually confirming Lily's guess. The tiny plastic figure of Wiggy the Warlock paced around the cardboard apothecary. Every once in a while he would glance up and shake his fist at Lily. Wiggy in particular could get quite a temper when he was accused.

"Do you have anything or not?" Lily asked her mother impatiently.

Ginny laughed and pulled a card out from the small pile in her hands. She showed its face to Lily, being careful to make sure James, who was trying to look like he wasn't trying to peek, didn't see it. Lily frowned when she saw Wiggy the Warlock looking back at her, holding one chubby hand over his mouth so he wouldn't accidentally make a sound and give himself away to the others. "Fine," she said, frowning down at her suspect sheet.

"Right, if Ace Detective Lily is done wasting our time…" James said, picking up the dice. He wore a familiar grin that meant he was close to winning, if he didn't have the answer already. Ginny smiled fondly at him. James could get so competitive over the simplest things.

It was a lovely summer evening. They'd had a bout of good weather lately. If they'd been outside they could have seen all the stars. Instead they were spread out on the floor of the living room, having pushed aside the couch and various bits of mismatched furniture to make room for the game board, and all of the windows were open, letting in a pleasant night breeze. Ginny was just thinking that the night would only be better if Harry would come home early somehow, and perhaps that made her listen carefully for someone outside, and that's why she heard it—the sound of someone Apparating, although they would have to be all the way at the end of the front walk because of the wards on the house. She stood up.

"What's up, Mum?" asked Albus.

"I think I hear Dad," she said, "Keep playing." She crossed to the small foyer that opened off of the living room and was about to open the front door when the bell rang. Her hand hesitated on the knob and she felt a small stab of disappointment. So it wasn't Harry then.

When she opened the door she'd altered her expectations and thought that maybe she might see Hermione or her brother, who lived the closest of their various friends and relatives. So she was extremely surprised to see a short man with pale brown skin and curly hair wearing dark green robes. She recognized him as Henry Vellums, Harry's second in command in the Auror Department, and selected for the position with good reason. He was an extremely talented wizard, although he always seemed a bit bewildered by his own abilities. His mother had been an African shawoman, his father an accountant from Brighton. They'd both been killed by dark wizards when he was in his teens. Ginny had only met him on a few occasions, but Harry talked about him enough that she felt she knew him a great deal.

"Mrs. Potter…" Vellums greeted her formally. "May I come inside?"

Ginny noted the expression on his face. There was a tightness to his mouth and around his eyes that caused a sudden dread to creep into Ginny like a cold hand gripped around her heart. She glanced back into the living room where her children were all laughing about something—so much that James and Albus had fallen over and Lily appeared to be crying, banging one hand on the floor and disrupting the game pieces. Ginny turned back to Vellums and said, "No, it's a nice night, I'll just step outside."

She shut the door quietly behind her and then turned to face him, her eyes searching his. "What is it?" she asked, not bothering to mask her fear. "Did something happen to Harry?"

She noticed vaguely that he held a pointed wizard's cap in his hands—probably he had taken it off to be polite. Now he turned it around and around by the brim with his long fingers, nervously. "He's…" he said, suddenly unable to meet her eyes…

Ginny stood very still. She could hear the blood rushing through her ears and willed herself to calm down, her heart to slow, because if she couldn't hear the next part, if she didn't hear the word said out loud, she would never believe it. And she had to know the truth.

"He's… missing," Vellums said finally. He did not look very happy to be saying this, but to Ginny it was as if she'd been drowning and thrown a line at the last possible second.

"_Missing_?" she repeated. She realized that there was a wild grin on her face and tried to school her expression. "Oh my God, do you have any idea what I _thought _you were going to say?"

Vellums regarded her relief sadly. "I'm sorry, I know missing is better than, you know, but the thing is, Harry… he _might_ be…" His voice broke off. Ginny, still high from relief, felt compelled to comfort him.

"But he's been missing before," she said, almost dismissively. "For days, even, like that time he got trapped in the Gorgons' lair? And it can't have been more than a few hours, this time, right? A routine raid can't last that long."

His eyebrows shot up, causing several worry lines to form on his forehead. They looked comfortable there, and despite the fact that Vellums was fairly young, it wouldn't be long before they were permanent. "Harry told you about the mission?"

Ginny realized her mistake and cast around for an excuse. "Uh, no, I just_ assumed_…" she sighed and gave up. "Yeah, okay, sorry, I know that stuff is supposed to be Top Secret or whatever, but I can't stand not knowing what danger he's putting himself in. You understand, don't you?"

"Of course I do," sighed Vellums, "My wife's just the same. And I'm not about to rat out the head of the department, am I?," a faint smile appeared on his lips. "He's the person you're supposed to rat people out _to_. And besides, despite the rumors, I'm _not _gunning for department head. I was mad enough when Harry put me under him, I wouldn't touch _his_ job with a ten foot pole." Ginny raised her eyebrows. People thought Vellums was after Harry's job? That was a new one to her. But she supposed power-plays came with any Ministry job description. "And now he's gone, and I'm stuck with it." Vellums looked down at his hat, seeming honestly disturbed with the prospect.

"Is that all?" Ginny asked politely.

"What?" Vellums asked, obviously distracted. Then he shook his head sharply. "No, not at all. Ginny, Mrs. Potter—"

"Ginny's fine."

"Ginny," he said, regarding her seriously. "Look, I've had to tell this to people before, but I'm having a hard time because it's you. Because it's Harry."

"Tell what?" Ginny asked, frowning. "You said he's missing. He's been missing before, he—"

"This time is different," Vellums said darkly. "They _were _just on a routine raid, the hideout of a dark objects ring, Harry and a team of three other Aurors. Two were dead when we got there. One called for back-up, then got knocked out. Knocked out before he saw what happened to Harry. But Harry wasn't there when we got there. He wasn't anywhere."

Ginny sat down hard on the front step. "Two people… _died_?" Suddenly frantic, she said, "But they were left behind, right? They wouldn't have taken Harry unless he was alive." Her optimism fizzled out as she heard her own words. So Harry had been _taken _somewhere, by some unknown villain who most certainly wanted to hurt him. Maybe kill him.

"That's not all…" Vellums added. He was turning his hat quite quickly now, and looked as if he wished he could be anywhere else except where he was. "There was quite a bit of blood at the scene, Ginny."

Ginny was quiet for a moment and then asked, as if she couldn't help herself, "Harry's?"

Vellums nodded stiffly.

"I can't take this!" Ginny growled, startling Vellums with her sudden ferocity. She stood up and pushed him back angrily. "He's dead, he's not dead! What do _you _think, Henry?"

Vellums hesitated, thinking his answer through, before saying, "I'm going to be honest with you because from what Harry's told me you're not the sort to appreciate sugar-coating." Ginny felt a sob growing in her throat at the mention of Harry calmly chatting about her at work and quelled it. Her eyes were dry and she looked at Vellums steadily.

"Tell me," she said.

"What I think is this: I think that the dark objects ring—which is illegal, and dangerous, of course, but not the worst thing we come up against by a long shot—was a front for something much worse. I think someone had it in for Harry, something personal against him, and they planned all of this to get revenge. And I _think _they'll probably keep him alive for a while, but only so they can do any number of horrible things to him."

"You think a lot of things, don't you?" Ginny asked sourly.

Vellums shrugged. "I didn't get this far by underestimating what I'm up against. I've seen a lot of these people, Ginny, people who fall into dark magic. It has a certain effect. I know how their minds work—"

"I know too," Ginny cut him off sharply. "More than you can imagine."

Vellums opened his mouth to say something, but closed it sharply. Perhaps it was Ginny's stony expression that quieted him, or perhaps, just faintly, it was the ghost of Tom Riddle, looking out through her eyes for the briefest of moments.

They stood and quietly regarded each other. Ginny felt the surliness that had built up within her melt away, and suddenly she only felt tired, and scared. The breeze picked up and she shivered, crossing her arms.

"Thank you," she said, "For telling me the truth."

Vellums nodded. "I'm sorry to do it," he said. "Is there anything I can do for you, or your family?"

That sounded like a routine question to Ginny, and she wasn't sure what comfort the man could provide now that he'd told her what he knew. She shook her head. "Thank you," she said, "But we'll be fine."

He nodded and backed up a few steps, toward the end of the walk where he could Apparate away. "I have to get back, then. The search is on, of course. There should be two Aurors here within half an hour. I think under the circumstances it's best to keep a watch on the house. I'll contact you the minute I know anything."

Ginny couldn't bring herself to thank him again, so there was an awkward pause before the man turned and walked away. Ginny watched him until he reached the street, spun on the spot, and vanished with a small _pop_. She glanced around, but didn't expect to see anyone. Their house was secluded, hidden by woods on two sides, and the only one for a mile in any direction. It had to be that way since the neighborhood was mostly Muggles, and the Potters loved flying a bit too much to live anywhere they might easily be seen.

Still, she got the feeling of being watched, and hoped that the Aurors would arrive soon. Vellums was right, of course. If someone had been after Harry, they might try to come after her too, or their children. She reached a hand out and touched the door frame softly. Over a dozen protective wards were in place—she could feel them, if she tried, humming beneath her palm. They would be safe, wouldn't they? She certainly didn't feel safe. Whoever they were up against had gotten Harry somehow. The thought was almost unimaginable.

As she stepped back inside, she briefly pressed a hand against her ribs. It wasn't quite a physical feeling, but she could tell that something deep inside her was cracked.

* * *

The Potter children were very quiet. Lily leaned against her mother on the couch, James sat beside them. Albus was on the floor, his arms curled around his knees. None of them said a word after Ginny had finished telling them all she had learned from Vellums two nights ago, and all she had learned from him since then, which wasn't much. Harry was still missing; they still weren't sure who was behind it. They had no way of knowing where he'd been taken, and the longer it took them to figure it out, the more likely it was that he couldn't be saved even if they did find him.

James was the first to break the silence. "I can't believe it!" he said angrily. "How could somebody get Dad? He's the best, isn't he? He's effing Harry Potter!"

"James," Ginny said warningly, more out of habit than anything else. She sighed and said, "He was probably ambushed. It was a trap. A set-up."

"Why did Dad go if it was a trap?" Lily asked. Ginny stroked her hair gently.

"He didn't know," she said, and her voice broke. She took a breath to a get a grip on herself. She was tired, and she didn't want to pretend to be okay, but that didn't mean she wasn't going to do it. Not when the kids needed her to do it. "You know his job is dangerous. Sometimes these things happen."

"But _why_?" Lily pressed, obviously frustrated. "Why do they have to happen? Why do people have to be bad?"

"Give it a rest, Lils," James said sulkily.

Ginny shot James a Look and said to Lily, "I don't know, sweetheart. Some people are just bad. Or sometimes bad things happen to people and it makes them bad themselves."

"But—" Lily began, but Albus spoke up for the first time, cutting her off.

"Not you," he said, looking at Ginny. "Not Dad. Lots of bad things happened to you, right? And you've never used dark magic."

A small, wry smile found its way to Ginny's lips. "That's true," she said. The smile faded. "And much good it's done Dad. I wonder if people can be _too _good sometimes… Too good for their own good, that's the way your dad always was."

"Why are you talking about him in the past tense?" Albus asked. His voice cracked, as it tended to do, especially when he was nervous or upset.

"I'm _not_," Ginny said firmly. "I'm saying, he's always been that way. Up until now. When he still is."

James rolled his eyes, "Great, okay. Dad's good, other people are bad. We get it. But how are they going to _find _him?"

"Well, that's the thing…" said Ginny. She briefly wondered if this would be even harder to say than all the rest, but then it came pouring out, easiest of all: "_I'm _going to find him."

"What?" all three children asked at almost exactly the same time. Ginny looked at each of them in turn. James had quite a surly expression, and she knew that she probably wouldn't get more than sarcasm from him until he calmed down. Lily was frowning as if she was trying to figure out a difficult problem. Albus was the hardest to look at. He simply looked… _sad_. But all of them were taking it well; they weren't crying, they were surprised at her statement but didn't seem scared. They were tough, her kids, and brave. They would be all right.

She wondered at how a conversation could change from a mother talking to her children, to a person talking to other people.

"I can't just sit here," she told them honestly. "I can't just wait around for someone else to tell me that Harry—that your dad is dead. Not if there's something I can do…" She looked around at her children, who were all regarding her warily now. "You'll be fine," she told them with more certainty than she felt. "There have been guards here every day, you probably haven't seen them—"

"We did, thanks," James said.

Ginny sighed. "I'm sorry I kept you in the dark, all right? I didn't know what to do. Now look, I'm leaving tonight. I want you all to pack bags to go stay with Uncle Ron for a while."

"No!" Lily and Albus disagreed immediately.

"What if he comes back?" Lily asked frantically. "What if Dad comes back and no one's here?"

"What if they come after us there and get Hermione and Ron and Rose and Hugo too?" Albus asked, his face pale.

Ginny felt a pang in her heart. She remembered a time long ago when Harry, looking much younger, more like Albus, told her that she couldn't be his girlfriend because she could get killed. Even after Voldemort's death, it had taken some convincing for Harry to be completely okay with something as vulnerable as a girlfriend, a wife, a family. And they did know the dangers—theirs was probably the most strongly protected wizarding household in England, and all of the Weasleys weren't far behind. But until now those dangers hadn't seemed so real. People held grudges against Harry, but that was a far cry from a genocidal psychopath with a grudge _and _a prophecy to back it up. Ginny was amazed to realize that somehow, even after everything she had been through, she had managed to form a sense of security.

And look where assuming all was well had brought her.

"You'll be _fine_," she said to them with much more certainty than she felt. "And Dad will know where to find you if he comes back." She turned to James.

"No complaints from you? That's unusual." She tried to smile.

The look James gave her in return was dead serious. "I want to come with you," he said.

Ginny wasn't surprised. If anything, she was surprised by how very unsurprised she was. But how could she be? James didn't normally look like his father, at least not nearly as much as Albus. But just now he was regarding her with such a determined expression he reminded her more of Harry than Albus ever did.

Her first instinct was to calm down slightly, about everything. After all, when Harry got that expression it usually meant that he was going to take care of things. And everything would turn out all right. She could remember that young face as clear as yesterday, twisted with pain but trying not to show it, telling her to get out of the Chamber, to leave him…

Then she remembered that, of course, this wasn't Harry at all, it was _James_, and there was no way in hell he was putting himself in danger.

Her wandering thoughts had occurred in all of a second. "No," she said simply.

James's resolved expression crumpled almost immediately, and to Ginny's relief he didn't look like Harry anymore. Probably his proposal should have made her proud, but not in this kind of situation. Not with Harry's own track record of getting mixed up in extremely dangerous things, especially when he was right around James's age.

"Why not?" he complained. "I can help you! I'm old enough."

"You are _not_ old enough," Ginny disagreed. "And it's the holidays. You can't even use magic."

"The Ministry won't care if I'm doing it to save Dad!" James pointed out. "They'll probably _thank _me."

"I want to go too!" piped up Lily.

Ginny heaved a frustrated sigh. She should have realized this would have sparked some kind of argument with the kids. They were _Harry's _after all, as she had reminded Hermione earlier. And she'd thought that they should be kept from the truth because it would frighten them!

She should have known. She was just so _focused _on saving Harry, on figuring out how she was going to go about it… it had been easy to forget that leaving home would probably be one of the most difficult parts of the whole operation.

"Listen, you three," she said, trying to insert a bit of _no nonsense _in her voice. Albus hadn't made a bid to join her yet, and perhaps wasn't likely too, but she addressed him too just in case. "This is serious. It's nice that you want to help your dad…"

"_Nice_?" James repeated. "I don't want to do it to be _nice_."

Ginny asked, "Well then, why do you want to do it?"

And James's answer was immediate, "Because he's in trouble and he might need my help."

This was getting harder and harder by the minute. Ginny wondered if she'd make it out without a full-blown row starting up. She hoped so. If things didn't go well, she didn't want angry words to be the last to pass between her and her kids.

But she would reserve those kinds of thoughts for later.

"Dad is in trouble," she conceded. "But I promise you, there is nothing you can do about it. Where ever he's being… held… it's going to be dangerous. Whoever was able to get him must be really powerful, and you all aren't experienced enough."

"More powerful than Voldemort?" James asked insistently.

Ginny was somewhat shocked by the question. "No, of course not."

"Dad went after Voldemort when he was my age," James continued. "When he thought Sirius was captured, you all left school and went right to go find him, to face Voldemort even though Dad was only fifteen, and you were only Al's age! You _told _us that, you told us that story. You survived, didn't you? You got out."

Ginny's voice was cold when she replied, "Sirius didn't."

James shut up immediately, his gaze aimed toward the floor. He looked like he still wanted to argue but couldn't think of anything else to say.

Ginny sighed and reached over to touch James's shoulder. "I understand this is frustrating," she said, her voice deliberately calm. "But it's what has to be done. When you three are older you can go about saving whoever you want," _just not if I have anything to say about it_, she added silently. "Now go upstairs and pack some bags so you can stay with Uncle Ron, all right? Please."

For a moment she didn't think they would do it, and she did her best to keep the frustration screaming in her chest from showing on her face. Ginny had never been the best at hiding her emotions. For most of her life she'd never seen any need to, and she certainly never had a problem with saying exactly what was on her mind. But that had changed quite a bit when the kids came along.

But in truth, presently the feelings she suppressed were pretty far removed from fear or worry. Beneath the calm she imposed on herself for the kids, something raged and twisted inside. Something she couldn't really describe as anything except _violence_. And she was trying very hard not to think about it. Not until the kids were safe. Not until she got out. Then nothing else would matter.

Slowly, finally, each of her children got up and made their way towards the foyer where the staircase was. Ginny did her best to hold in a sigh of relief. She understood why they were fighting her on this, but when it came right down to it, the longer she was here convincing them not to get involved, the longer she wasn't out there, finding Harry.

As soon as Albus, trailing behind the others slightly, disappeared into the foyer, Ginny allowed herself to sink back into the couch and close her eyes. Soon, she told herself. Soon she would have her answers. There was just one more obstacle to overcome.

Ron and Hermione.

* * *

"I can't believe this!" James raged. He was packing, shoving random bits of clothing at various stages of cleanliness into a backpack without looking at them, but he certainly wasn't happy about it. "I can't believe she's just going to leave us like this. I should be allowed to go!"

Albus said nothing. He was much more careful about his own bag, regarding the neatly folded clothes in his drawers with scrutiny. He made sure to stock up on socks and underwear in particular.

"And just what does she think she's going to do anyway, huh? I mean, I know she knows how to fight and all, but she's a writer for Merlin's sake. She's not a damned Auror, like Dad."

Albus continued to pack quietly. He half-listened to his brother's ranting, but for the most part consumed himself with the task. He had two jackets he was considering, but only one was waterproof. He'd better bring that one.

"Are you even listening, Al?" James snapped at him, finally, as Albus knew inevitably would happen, turning his anger on his little brother. "Do you even care that all this is happening? I mean, I didn't see you trying to convince Mum to let us go." He narrowed his eyes. "Your own little sister wants to go, but you don't? Why am I not surprised?"

Albus regarded him levelly, his green eyes revealing nothing. Before he had the chance to defend himself, if he was even going to bother, Lily stomped into the room. She dropped a bright pink duffel bag on the ground and it landed with a loud _thunk_. It was so full that the zipper hadn't been able to close properly, and from what Albus could see her packing methods were much more similar to their older brother's than his own.

"I'm ready," she said moodily. "But I don't like it. I don't like this. What if Mum never comes back?"

The boys simultaneously noted with surprise that Lily was close to tears. It sent a shiver of panic through each of them; Lily rarely cried. If she was crying, then things had to be pretty awful.

"Don't worry," James said, awkwardly fumbling for the words to comfort a sister who usually didn't need it. "She will. Mum's tough. She knows what she's doing."

Albus knew better than to point out that this statement was practically the opposite of what James had said not one minute before. Instead he closed up his own bag, and watched his siblings. The three Potter children could only seem to stand there, looking at each other. None of them was ready to go back downstairs and to get dumped on their aunt and uncle while their mother went out and risked her life for their father, who might already be dead anyway.

It occurred to all three that this was the worst thing that ever happened to them.

"Well, let's go then," Albus prompted finally. On his part, as much as he would rather stay behind, if they had to go then he was anxious to get moving. He made for the door, but James interrupted him.

"Hey, Al," he said, "I, er, what I said. Look, I get it. I mean, maybe it is a little crazy to want to go along. I'm just not thinking straight, and I'll er, get over it."

Lily shot him a look, thinking over his words before figuring out was going on. She turned her gaze to Albus. She hadn't said anything, more because she didn't know what to make of it than as matter of showing any kind of tact, but she'd also noticed his silence during their argument downstairs.

"You won't," Albus said quietly. He had a peculiar expression on his face, one that Lily didn't recognize. More often than not Albus's face was hidden behind a book anyway.

James frowned. "I'm trying to apologize here, you know I'm no good at it…"

"Shut up," Albus said. It was quite an assertive statement. James was so surprised he shut his mouth tight immediately. Albus regarded his brother and sister and in that moment Lily realized what was different, what she couldn't place before. _Determination._

If Ginny had been there to see, she would have noticed it right away. James wearing that expression resembled Harry, maybe, but when Albus wore it… it was like stepping through time. But she didn't see, and the kids couldn't know.

"I didn't say anything for a reason," Albus explained. "I don't want Mum to be suspicious."

"Suspicious of what?" Lily breathed, her eyes wide with actual amazement.

"That we're going to sneak away, of course," Albus said. "We're going to go out and find Dad for ourselves."

"Merlin's balls," said James. "Who are you and what have you done with my little brother?"

"He's right here," replied Albus. "And he's got a plan."

* * *

END OF CHAPTER ONE

Author's Note: So there you have it! Just as a side note to any extreme nit-pickers: I'm aware that James and Al, according to Harry, specifically do not share a room. I say they do. I guess you can officially count my fanfiction as AU then, lol.

Until next time!


	2. Chapter 2: Broken

**IMPORTANT NOTE IF YOU READ THIS STORY BEFORE 8/14/10**: You will notice that this is not an entirely new chapter, but rather I have split what was originally one chapter into two. However, I have made some small but very important changes to this part of the story, so if you don't mind doing so you should really read it again. Otherwise certain elements of the story won't make much sense later…

A real update should be happening soon!

All Was Well  
Chapter 2: Broken

It wasn't easy for Ron and Hermione to shoo their children out of the house. To Hermione's delight and Ron's disappointment, both of them had developed a penchant for academia rather than sports or the family business (though Ron was convinced that Hugo would be brilliant at pranks if only he was just a bit more mischievous), and so telling them to "Go outside and play," was just about as foreign to them as saying, "Go outside and do a Mexican Hat Dance."

Hermione, of course, had found a solution early on.

"It's nice out, why don't you two read outside?" she suggested to the younger teens as they sprawled out in the living room. She couldn't help but smile fondly when they simultaneously looked up at her with wide eyes. Obviously they'd both been a million miles away, completely absorbed in what they were doing.

Rose had spread out three different editions of _The Standard Book of Spells_, _Grade 4_: an old one Hermione had gotten for her at a used book store a few weeks ago, a copy from her own Hogwarts days that was probably Ron's (unlike Hermione's worn-out school books, this one appeared to have been very rarely opened), and the Newly Revised Standard Edition by Terry Boot. Rose, who was very interested in magical theory, was flipping through all three page by page and taking notes on the differences. Hugo's current task was much less involved: he was simply reading _Hogwarts: A History_, which had also come out with newer versions in recent years, and which notably included the names of many of his family members for various reasons.

Hermione watched as Rose glanced out the window. It was almost evening, but there was still an hour or two of sunlight left and it was warm. But it wouldn't make much difference to Rose where she was reading. She could become so absorbed in any task she set for herself that she could probably press on with the same concentration in a cage full of Blast-Ended Skrewts.

The fresh air would do them both some good. But most importantly, Hermione needed to talk to Ron.

"All right," Hugo agreed before his sister could seem to wrap her mind around the concept of taking down her carefully organized set-up and rearranging herself somewhere else. He snapped his single, heavy book shut and hoisted it under one arm. "Come on, Rosie, we'll go by the berry bushes."

"I was quite fine in here…" Rose said doubtfully. She slowly began to pull her work into a neat pile.

"I think we should go outside," Hugo told her firmly. He knew better than to help her organize, so he headed toward the door on his own. As he passed his mother, he shot her a knowing look. Rose smiled somewhat as she passed, still looking slightly flustered, and Hermione reached out to gently tug her bushy red hair. And then they were gone, and she and Ron were alone. She hadn't heard him come in but she could feel him standing in the doorway, watching her.

She said, "It's hard to believe it sometimes, you know?" Ron remained silent.

"Our kids," continued Hermione, almost dreamily. "They're so, so wonderful. Twenty years ago, if someone had told me that I would have two such amazing, beautiful, intelligent children… and that I would have them with Ron Weasley, well… I don't know what I would have done."

He finally replied, and he said, "Hexed them, probably." There was a smile in his voice, for the briefest of moments, but when Hermione turned to him he looked grim.

"They'll find him, won't they?" she asked uselessly. Her arms were crossed like they always were when she spoke to him, which hadn't been particularly often lately.

Ron, standing in a similar posture, did not respond right away. Hermione saw panic in his eyes and knew the very same would be reflected in her own. It was no wonder that Hugo had seen it. He was so quiet, but he was intelligent in a way that his sister probably never would be. He noticed things.

"It's just… I can't…" Ron stumbled over the words, searching for the right ones. Hermione felt her heart rate pick up. He was trying to _share_ something with her. Trying to be honest. "It's just _weird, _you know?" was what he decided on. He continued, "It's so weird to think that he's out there somewhere, that he's in so much trouble… and here we are."

"Here we are," repeated Hermione.

"Do you remember him trying to get us not to go with him?" Ron asked.

Hermione replied immediately, knowing just what he meant by 'go with him.' "Yes," she said. "But this is different. Of course it's different."

"Right," said Ron. "This is his job now." He laughed a little, not a happy sound. "I mean, you'd think we should have seen it coming. Nobody ever thought this could happen."

"Not to Harry," Hermione agreed.

They fell into a tense silence for a few moments. A question hovered in the air between them, and they stared at it. It was the one Hermione had wanted to ask Ron, the reason she had sent the kids away and out of earshot. And she knew he was thinking it too. It was only a matter of who would ask it first.

Then Hermione said, "We can't leave the kids," at the same time Ron groaned, "What could we do anyway?"

Another brief silence.

Then Ron said, "We could leave them with Ginny," while Hermione said, "I don't know, but I can't just wait here."

Ron tiredly rubbed his eyes. "I don't know, Hermione," he said. "This is… I just feel like I'm bloody twelve years old again. I have no idea what I'm doing."

"When we were twelve we had Harry to tell us what to do," squeaked Hermione. She was very near tears now and couldn't seem to get her voice to work. Ron had a way of cutting right to the core of a situation, quite simply and accurately. Often it was hurtful, but Hermione had forgotten that it was also often right. She did feel like a child again. Lost. Afraid.

It had been two days since they'd found out, from Ginny. She seemed to be holding up fairly well, all things considered, but Hermione wasn't sure how much more she herself could take before she really began to fall apart. The past two days had felt like a nightmare, somehow, and she kept expecting to wake up from it. She did have nightmares like that sometimes. Nightmares about the times in her life when losing people was so easy, when she could never be sure of anyone's chances, even her own. But it hadn't felt this real to her in a long time.

"So what do we do?" Ron asked. They both knew. It was just a matter of saying it out loud.

"Ron…" Hermione began, and he took a step towards her, somewhat shortening the distance between them.

Someone knocked loudly on the front door. They both jumped. Then Ron gave a short, mirthless laugh. "The door," he said.

"I'll get it," Hermione said weakly. It was a pointless statement, of course, because Ron followed her to the front door anyway, his hand openly gripping his wand. She reached into her pocket and brushed her fingers against her own. Normally, Ron was the sort to leave his lying around the house, and Hermione was sometimes too distracted by her work to keep track of it. But for the past two days the both of them had made sure to have their wands on them at all times.

At this point they were so anxious it was a wonder they didn't automatically shoot hexes when the door was opened. Which was a good thing, because it was Ginny.

She looked awful. She wore casual Muggle clothes—torn jeans and an old t-shirt with paint on it, and her normally radiant hair looked dull pulled back in a messy pony-tail. Her eyes were red, from crying or not-sleeping or both, Hermione didn't know. There was something else that was off about her appearance that Hermione couldn't quite place. Something about the way she held herself, the look in her eye. She seemed strangely blank.

"Can we come in?" Ginny asked. Her voice was hollow. Hermione felt dread wash over her like a freezing wave, but wordlessly stood aside. Belatedly she noticed that the three Potter children were crowded around their mother, each of them holding a broomstick.

"Leave those on the porch," Hermione said automatically. "It's protected against theft by—"

"We know, Aunt Hermione," James cut in, rolling his eyes. "We're here like every other day, remember?"

"Of course, sorry," Hermione amended, blushing somewhat. She looked thrown off by James's sarcastic tone, which was admittedly even more biting than usual.

"Calm down, Jimmy," Ron frowned. "You're not the only one who's angry."

James refused to meet his eyes. "Whatever."

"Can I go to my room?" Lily asked, sounding bored.

Hermione glanced at Ron, but he was very determinedly not looking at her, as if their conversation in the living room had never happened.

When the Potter children spent the night Lily usually shared a bed with Rose, while the boys slept in Hugo's room. All three of the kids had dropped bags onto the floor. Clearly they were intending to stay.

"Yes," Ginny said without looking at her daughter.

Hermione stopped her, "Not yet, sweetheart. Rose and Hugo are out back. Why don't you three go say hi?" She shot Ginny an accusing look, to which Ginny responded with a blank stare.

"Sure, let's do that," said Albus. "You guys probably need to talk about adult stuff that we're not allowed to know, or whatever." It was an oddly snippy thing for Albus to say. His siblings didn't even seem to notice, however, and without question followed him back outside, presumably to go find their cousins.

"They seem… okay," Hermione said when the door closed behind them.

Ron snorted. "Sure. They were acting perfectly normal. I mean, Albus uses sarcasm all the time."

Hermione glared at him. "I wouldn't be surprised, spending as much time as he does around _you_."

Ginny could see that this was fast developing into one of their fights, which as of late had become a great deal less playful and a great deal more angry, and had no patience for it. So before her brother could respond, she said simply, "I'm going after Harry. Do you mind watching the kids for a few days?"

"Yes we do," Ron snapped, "You're not going anywhere."

Ginny stared at him. "What are you going to do about it?" she asked.

"Tie you down, if I have to," Ron replied. The anger that he'd been keeping at bay, finally given an impetus, boiled through to the surface. "You are _not _going to go and put yourself in danger, Ginny, I won't let you."

"Ron…" Hermione said, trying to sound soothing. It wouldn't do any good for him and Ginny to get into a fight, and besides, moments before the two of them had been talking about going after Harry. It wasn't so crazy, maybe even less crazy, that Ginny wanted to do the same.

Ron brushed her off. He'd turned bright red, all the way to his ears. "What, exactly, is your plan? Go to the crime scene and track him down somehow, even though no one in the Auror Department has been able to? And even if you _do _find him, what are you going to do _then_? Besides get killed?"

"Ron, shut up," Hermione said, but it was too late. Before either of them could do anything, Ginny's wand was suddenly in her hand, and aimed at her brother's throat. Ron had tucked his away when he'd seen who was at the door, but any thoughts of defending himself fled his mind along with everything else. He froze, his mouth stuck slightly open.

"Ginny!" Hermione cried, completely at a loss of what to do. Ginny glanced her way briefly. Her eyes were frighteningly blank. Hermione could hardly believe the change Ginny had undergone since that morning. Before she had seemed… well, not _fine_, but like herself. Now she looked like something else entirely, like something had broken inside her.

Ginny's eyes shifted back to Ron, who appeared too bewildered to act. "Listen to me," she said, her voice was deadly quiet. "I am _not _sixteen years old anymore, Ron Weasley. The only person I've ever loved might be dead. I am not going to sit around, safe from the battle this time. I'm going to find him, and I'm going to save him. And if he can't be saved, I'm going to find whoever got him and I'm going to _tear their fucking guts out_. Got it?"

Ron's face, which had been bright red before, had gone completely white so that each of his many freckles stood out starkly. "Ginny…" he said weakly.

"Ginny, you need to calm down _right now_," Hermione interrupted, her voice simmered with authority. She'd kept hold of her own wand and now held it steadily at her sister-in-law.

Ginny looked at this new threat dismissively, "What are you going to do to me, Hermione?"

"What are you going to do to your own brother?" Hermione countered.

Ron seemed to have regained his senses about what was going on, but of course hadn't bothered going for his own wand, even while Ginny was distracted. She was his little sister, after all, even if she had apparently lost her mind.

Ginny held Hermione's gaze just long enough that the older woman thought that maybe she was wrong, and maybe Ginny was just angry enough, or crazy enough, to fight them both if she thought they would get in her way. She had a stunning spell on the tip of her tongue, hardly able to believe that might actually have to use it.

But then Ginny lowered her wand, and Hermione slowly lowered hers. Ron exhaled sharply.

"Oh my God, Gin," was all he could seem to say. He put one hand on his chest, pressing on his pounding heart.

"I'm sorry," Ginny whispered. Hermione was relieved to hear that the hollow quality of her voice had been replaced by a more human one. "I don't know what's happening to me. It's like I'm being eaten from the inside."

Ron pulled her into a hug, which was entirely unusual. Although he and Ginny were close, they didn't really have the _hugging _sort of relationship. They were more likely to hit each other. But this was different. Ginny didn't seem to have the energy to return the gesture, and her arms remained limp at her sides. Her right hand still gripped her wand so tightly the knuckles were white.

"I'm sorry too," he said. "I shouldn't have reacted like that. It's just… with Harry gone… the thought of losing you too…"

"I'm going," Ginny said. Ron pulled away and took a few seconds to make sure that the words that came out of his mouth weren't an argument. Then he said, "Okay."

"So are we," Hermione added immediately. Ginny looked at her, eyes wide, and Hermione continued churlishly, "Oh, don't look so surprised, Ginny. We love Harry too. We'd do anything for him."

She looked at Ron, who met her eyes for once and nodded.

Ginny thought this over before saying, "All right." She almost smiled, and she seemed to come back to herself, like a ghost. "Of course, the golden trio has to stick together."

"Still a trio," Hermione pointed out.

"Too many girls on this team, though," said Ron. Hermione almost smiled.

Ginny continued to look exhausted, but she looked like herself, which was a relief. "But what about the kids? I was going to ask you to look after James, Al, and Lily, but I guess now…"

"We'll think of something," said Hermione. "There has to be somewhere they can go. Your mum's maybe?"

"She'll be thrilled," Ron dead-panned.

* * *

The Potter children marched unhappily back down the front steps of their aunt and uncle's house, heard the door shut behind them, glanced back once, and simultaneously shot each other congratulatory looks.

"This is kind of fun," James commented. "It's like I can be as much of a jerk as I want and I have an excuse."

"You're a jerk even when you don't have an excuse," Lily pointed out. Albus, who was walking between them, interrupted before the argument could get any further.

"That's _not _why we're doing this," he said seriously. "We have to make sure we look good and resolved to stay home while Mum goes after Dad."

"Oh come on, you saw her," James said, the humor dropping from his own tone. "Mum's barely paying attention to us anymore. I think all this waiting is driving her nuts. She just wants to _go_." From the tone of his voice it was apparent he felt just the same.

"She won't get anywhere if she finds out we're missing and has to come back and look for _us_. We have to do this carefully," Albus warned.

James sighed, "Whatever," he said. "I guess we should go find Rose and Hugo."

"Can you even imagine Rose coming with us?" Lily asked. "She would probably never leave the house if her parents didn't make her." Although Lily was quite fond of both of her cousins, she never understood their unwillingness to do anything… _exciting_. Ever since they were all much younger, if James and Lily wanted to play an adventure game, Rose and Hugo would most assuredly decline in favor of reading some dumb book or another. Of course, her brother Albus was somewhat the same, but at least the books that _he _liked to read were _about_ adventures. And anyway, now that he was orchestrating their grand escape, she couldn't very well say he was boring.

"I don't know what help those two will be anyway," James said, perhaps a bit coldly.

Albus snorted, as uncharacteristically sarcastic as he'd been with the adults inside. "I don't know how much help _we'll _be."

They spotted their cousins and the argument was cut short. About thirty feet behind the house a large patch of berry bushes had been a frequent play-area to all of the cousins as children because it provided some shade from the sun and endless snacking. Rose and Hugo were lounging around them now. Unsurprisingly, they had books with them. It took several moments before either of the Weasley children noticed they had visitors. Hugo was the first to blink up at them, and a grin split across his face.

"Hey, guys," he said, "I didn't know you were coming over today."

"Neither did we…" Lily grumbled. Rose finally found a place to stop reading and looked up. There was just the slightest trace of irritation in her voice, probably at having been interrupted, as she said, "Oh, hello."

As the three Potters found places to settle onto the grass, Hugo watched them carefully. Finally he asked, "Is something up? Did something happen with Uncle Harry?"

The three shot each other somewhat guilty glances. They had gotten distracted and hadn't actually come to an agreement as to whether or not they were letting Rose and Hugo in on their plans. In his position as temporary leader, Albus was the one who offered an answer.

"Yeah, actually. Our mum's running off on some psychotic mission to rescue him herself, so she's dumping us with you lot until she comes back."

This caught Rose and Hugo's entire attention.

"_What_?" Rose asked. "What do you mean, _some psychotic mission_? Do you mean she's really going to go out on her own and… and… fight criminals?"

Lily, who tended to lose patience with Rose more easily than the others, shot back, "Hey, Dad wasn't kidnapped by just some _criminals_, okay? Whoever took him is one seriously bad dark wizard."

"And my question remains," Rose replied icily.

"Yes," James cut in, "As I said, she's going off to go find Dad, and the thing is…"

He shot a look at Albus, who nodded solemnly and said, "We need them."

James finished, "We're going too."

Rose's jaw literally dropped. Hugo simply frowned.

"You said Aunt Ginny's going on her own," Rose pointed out.

"Right," explained James, "Which is why she isn't going to know that we've gone off as well."

Rose looked at each of her cousins in turn, carefully noting their set shoulders, and the defiant way they were looking at her. Like they were just daring her to argue, or to tell on them, which was definitely something she was considering.

"What exactly are you planning to do?" Hugo asked.

The question caught the Potter children somewhat off guard. Up until this point the biggest hurdle had been figuring out how to get away. It hadn't really occurred to them what they were going to do afterwards.

"We'll start by going to the place Dad disappeared from," Albus began a little uncertainly. "See if we can pick up a trail."

"Even the Aurors couldn't find anything," said Rose. She sounded a little hysterical. Like she accepted that probably her cousins were actually going to go through with this, but she couldn't quite believe it.

"Well, maybe they missed something," James said angrily. "That's the best we've got right now, okay? Now are you going to help us get out of here or not?"

Rose and Hugo looked at each other. Lily imagined they were speaking telepathically, or something weird like that. She loved her brothers (never would admit that out loud, of course) but the two Weasley children were so close and fought so rarely it was sometimes hard to believe they were siblings.

Then Rose heaved an exaggerated sigh, and the next words she spoke seemed to pain her. "All right, what do you need us to do?"

* * *

Harry, having regained consciousness, was assessing the situation.

The situation wasn't good.

It was too dark to see, but from feeling around he could tell he was in a small room, about the size of closet. Or the size of a cupboard under the stairs. This last part he suggested to himself a bit hysterically. He could feel that his head was injured, possibly concussed, but he couldn't reach up and determine where or how badly because his hands seemed to be shackled behind his back, pulled so tightly both of his shoulders were on the verge of dislocating. After attempting to stand up (a bad call anyway, considering the blood rush from his injured head had almost knocked him out again) he determined that his feet were also chained together.

With some struggle he managed to force his body into a sitting position against one of the closet—or cupboard's—walls. It was stone, cold and slick, and uneven in ways that jammed into his back and suddenly made him painfully aware that at least a few of his ribs were broken. A warm liquid was seeping steadily from his mouth, and he hazily wondered if he was vomiting. But the taste was all wrong. Thick. Metallic. _Blood_. One of his teeth was knocked almost completely loose. After a few moments of working it with his tongue, he spat it onto the floor. There. That was less annoying, if bleeding more profusely.

He noticed his glasses weren't on his face. He hoped Hermione had them, to do a spell. It was raining so hard he couldn't see, and he needed to catch the Snitch…

No, _no_, that was not what was happening at all. He was _captured_. But how? By who? Think. Think. He remembered a voice, a triumphant voice. A spell called out behind him. He had been too busy, he was protecting someone's body, someone who had fallen over…

God, he was in so much pain. He hoped Hermione had his glasses ready by the time the bones re-grew in his arm. He had to catch the Snitch. He hoped Ginny would watch. But she couldn't, it was too dangerous. He had to do it alone.

Alone.

* * *

END OF CHAPTER TWO

Until next time!


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